Mighty Ape Kogan XPRESSO 14" Full HD Pro Dual Screen Tri-Fold Portable Monitor - You Can't Go Back

Without getting too meta about it, one of the pitfalls of reviewing tech is you're always in danger of becoming one of those converts who spends all day trying to get other people into the latest craze you've become obsessed with.

For instance; I didn't even know RGB backlighting for your TV or monitor was a thing until I reviewed it. Now I hate watching telly without it and I won't shut up about it when people see mine and make the mistake of pointing it out.

I think the same thing has now happened to me with portable monitors.

In a very short space of time, I've gone from discovering they exist at all, to never wanting to use my laptop again unless I can bring another screen with me.

So you can only imagine what happened when I discovered how easy it was to add TWO extra screens...

Given Mighty Ape is one of the first places I go when I'm considering a new gadget of some kind, it was hardly surprising when I stumbled across the Kogan XPRESSO range of Full HD Pro portable monitors - especially when I found out I could double my fun in one fell swoop.

Kogan's Dual Screen Tri-Fold option comes in 13.3, 14 and 15.6-inch models - although there's a bit of flexibility there when it comes to what sized laptop you need to pair them with.

The concept is simple; two addon screens that fold down to the size of one when not in use for easy portability.

To that end, before we even really get started, I was impressed to discover a high-quality padded satchel in the box you can zip the XPRESSO Tri-Fold into - although, I quickly discovered I could fit it easily into my laptop bag, in the same padded pouch my computer slides into.

As I've already discovered, it's not like you need space in your bag for an extra power supply - or even that many cables. In fact, there are only two leads included and so far, I've only needed one of them. 

The USB-C to USB-C cord is just the right length to reach to your laptop's corresponding port, without excess cable to get in the way. I particularly appreciate the right-angled plug on one end, which adds flexibility to how you connect in tight spaces. There's also a somewhat intriguing cable with a USB-C on one end and two USB-A plugs on the other. I assume this is to cater for older setups where USB-A is the only available connection, so you'll need an extra plug to provide power.

In those cases, you may require the included USB thumb drive containing the required drivers to run the XPRESSO Tri-Fold but anything Windows 10 or later should be able to plug and play. Of course, there's no reason why you can't use these extra screens with a MacBook either, although anything pre M1 chip might struggle with a multi-display setup.

Needless to say, my trusty work-issued Dell had no issues.

Physically attaching this particular XPRESSO is an absolute doddle; the rear (middle) section between the two 14-inch IPS displays is spring-loaded, expanding or contracting to accommodate any laptop from 14 to 17.3-inches.

And once attached, it's pretty rock-solid. If not, there's one last little pack of genius included in the box; a tiny baggie of rubber noggins that fit over the small-but-mighty brackets at the base of the device to hold even the slimmest (or Air-iest) of laptops firmly in their grasp.

Although the XPRESSO Tri-Fold weighs in at just over a kilo - which is pretty damn light for not one but two 14-inch screens - it's important to remember all that extra weight is being transferred directly to the hinges of your source device, once everything's in place. I've developed a habit (and a technique) of moving from one radio studio to another with the whole shebang still attached. I probably shouldn't and kids, don't try this at home.

In saying that, in a sort of belt-and-suspenders approach, there's a fold-out (and extendable) kickstand on the back of the XPRESSO, complete with rubber foot, to add extra stability if required. I can't say I've required it but it's still nice to have it.

When it comes to picture quality, I was expecting to be underwhelmed. And that was fine. Two extra screens to spread all my stupid stuff onto? Who really cares how bright or colourful it is?

Thing is though, I've found display to be excellent - definitely on a par with my trusty work Dell machine - and I haven't even had to tweak the dual brightness controls, easily accessible at the top of the connecting bracket. 

Mighty Ape's listing makes a big deal about how small the bezels are on the XPRESSO's two displays - and that's to be commended. At the same time, it's a shame the housing for the hinge mechanisms on each side couldn't be just as slim. When I'm using a multi-screen setup, I'm keen to make it feel as borderless as possible, so moving the cursor from one display to another seems seamless.

This can also be a factor when gaming, of course. The illusion of an all-encompassing, wide-angle virtual world can be somewhat stifled with a couple of hefty hinges in between.

However, in saying that, I'm perfectly happy to sacrifice a centimetre or so between each panel in the name of stability and durability. Given this is an accessory I've become so addicted to and reliant on, I intend to continue to use the XPRESSO every day, for hours on end, moving between two different work spaces.

Three screens has been a revelation to me (I don't even run three displays in my home office). Obviously, two makes total sense - comparing web pages, pulling files into projects, one for email, one for browsing - but a third screen is a great place to chuck all the stuff you need to access every now and again, but not often. Thanks to Mighty Ape and Kogan, a dual screen addon has quickly become the productivity boost I didn't even know I needed.

Whatever you do, make sure I don't find out about Kogan's TRIPLE screen options on Mighty Ape. I need to draw the line somewhere.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Mighty Ape Kogan XPRESSO 14" Full HD Pro Dual Screen Tri-Fold Portable Monitor.

Amazon Fire TV Stick HD (2026) - More Amazony Than Ever

When it comes to streaming on a budget, it's hard to go past a Fire TV Stick.

Access to all the major streaming apps and control of your smart home for under $100? It's hard to argue with that.

This year, Amazon has made some significant changes to the device; some great... some slightly confounding.

But in terms of sheer value for money, you've come to the right place.

The 2026 Fire TV Stick HD is so small, it's hardly there at all.

It's slimmer, it's lighter and most importantly, it no longer requires its own wall-charger and cable with the hopelessly outdated microUSB connecter on the end.

The benefit of all this is it's likely to fit just about any modern TV out there - even if you've mounted it flush against the wall. Accordingly. unlike some previous designs, there's now no HDMI adapter cable in the box - the reasoning being you should be now able to plug in directly, without blocking any adjacent HDMI ports. The new USB-C charging slot also means you can charge directly from that random USB port on the back of your TV you never really knew what to do with. No wall charger means one less power socket required. 

I don't know about you, but I've got a lot of stuff plugged in back there. Any less plugs and cables floating around is always a win as far as I'm concerned.

The remote is a familiar shape and size, although it too has shrunk a bit and is extraordinarily light, even once you've inserted the included pair of AAA batteries. There are now four shortcut buttons on the remote, for Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+ and YouTube. Given I only subscribe to one of those services, I wish these buttons were customisable - at least some previous remotes had an "Apps" button which would bypass the home screen and just take you straight to your personalised library of streamers.

Ah yes, the home screen. And more generally, the new operating system; Vega.

Until now, Fire TV Sticks were Android-based. This meant you basically had access to over 40,000 apps right from your TV. How useful the vast majority of those would be is a moot point - but at least they were there if you really wanted them.

Another advantage of the previous, Android-based OS was the ability to sideload (install apps from other sources than the official app store).

Now, because of the move to Amazon's proprietary system, Vega, you only have your pick of apps in the Amazon Appstore, end of story. To be fair, at this point that means around 3,000 apps, but there are some rather glaring exceptions.

For example, want a web browser? Amazon's own Silk Browser seems to be your only option and while it works okay, building browsers has never been Amazon's specialist area. You know what I mean?

Jellyfin is a popular self-hosting media streaming app, that lets you access your own videos stored on your private network. That's nowhere to be seen on this year's Fire TV Stick HD. Thankfully, the alternative I use, Plex, is. More on that in a moment.

Casting from a phone, tablet or laptop to this Fire TV Stick has got a lot harder too. Although you can still mirror your screen from an Android device, iPhones have been left out in the cold. There are apps you can download to both the Stick and the source device to make casting work... except with Vega, they no longer do. So for someone like me who likes to stream live sport from the SkyGo app, I simply can't anymore because while it supports casting, SkyGo doesn't work over a mere mirrored screen. I've also tried logging into SkyGo via the Silk Browser - sometimes that works, sometimes not.

Amazon claims the 2026 HD Stick is more than 30% faster than the previous HD version from two years ago and from my testing, that appears to be the case, particularly when it comes to powering on and apps loading. However, as you'll see me demonstrate in the video below, once an app is up and running, there's no guarantee things will continue to speed along.

So back to my favourite app, Plex, which, if you're not familiar, essentially lets you access your own files in a format that looks and feels similar to any other streaming service. When I first fired up Plex on the Fire TV Stick HD, I could immediately see the Vega-version of the app had a slightly different look to what I was used to but didn't seem to be dramtically different in the way it worked - until I actually tried to play something. Then, after a very long wait for my file to start playing, I encountered regular buffering stutters - something I haven't had to deal with for a long time.

This surprised me, because the new HD stick connects to your local network via WiFi-6. Not 6e or 7, unfortunately, but even WiFi-6 should be ample to decode and stream a 1080p file through a private router. Alas, apparently not. So I got frustrated enough to connect an ethernet dongle to the stick, hardwiring it into my router instead. Interestingly, this did indeed cure my buffering problems, although my Plex files still take almost a minute to start once I hit Play.

There are a few other bits of weirdness - I've had both Netflix and Apple TV episodes fail to save their progress when I stopped them partway through. Is there anything more frustrating than having to restart an episode of something from the beginning, then fast-forwarding through to the last scene you remember watching? Arrrgh!

If I were a suspicious man, I might start to wonder if the only thing Amazon is really wanting you to watch on this device is Prime Video. You know? AMAZON Prime Video?

That I can't confirm - I don't have a Prime subscription so I don't know if the native Prime Video app works any more smoothly or consistently than the others I've been using.

I guess it's also possible the various app developers are still coming to terms with the new Vega platform and future updates will streamline things dramatically.

What I do know is - and this is nothing new for Fire TV devices - although Amazon claims the redesigned Vega-based experience learns about your preferred viewing habits the more you use it, I'm still being recommended an awful lot of content I can't watch because I'm not subscribed to it. Rows and rows and rows of it on a home screen that can only be customised in a very limited way, shuffling the order of downloaded apps in the third row, below a row of unhelpful recommendation tiles, that row itself below a preview of recommended content I'm generally not interested in or have already watched.

This kind of brand-specific internal on-screen marketing isn't unique to Amazon - I just wish there was a way to turn it off, or at least jump straight back into the last-used app whenever you turn the TV on.

Despite all of that, there's one thing the Fire TV Stick HD does really well, that almost makes up for all those other niggles; what you're watching looks and sounds fantastic.

Admittedly, I've got it plugged into a very nice, 75-inch TV that does a pretty decent job of upscaling HD content to 4K, but the HDR10+ video feed really pops and any Dolby-encoded content passes through to my home theatre system in all its surround sound glory.

And remember, this thing retails for just NZ$89. At that price, I think I can put up with a slightly more restrictive app store, some pushy Prime Video marketing and some content taking a little while to load.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Amazon Fire TV STick HD (2026).